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Robert Chamberlain
Robert Chamberlain (born 1607) was an English poet. Life Chamberlain, son of Robert Chamberlain of Standish, Lancashire, was born in 1607. He became clerk to Peter Ball, solicitor-general to Henrietta Maria. Ball, apparently impressed with Chamberlain’s literary promise, sent him to study at Exeter College, in 1637, when he was 30 years old.Lee, 4. At Oxford Chamberlain was popular with the university wits, and issued several volumes while in residence. He never took a degree. Chamberlain was the intimate friend of Thomas Rawlins and Thomas Nabbes, and was much attached to Peter Ball and his son William. He contributed commendatory verses to Nabbes's Spring's Glory,' 1638; to Rawlins's tragedy of The Rebellion, 1640; to Tatham's Fancies Theatre, 1640; and to Leonard Blunt's Asse upon Asse, 1661. He has been erroneously credited by Wood and others with the authorship of Phineas Fletcher's Sicelides: A pastoral, 1633. The date of his death is not known. Writing Chamberlain's literary work consists of original apophthegms, a comedy, some short poems, and collections of ancient jokes. His works are: #''Nocturnal Lucubrations; or, Meditations divine and morall; whereunto are added epigrams and epitaphs, written by Rob. Chamberlain'', London, 1638, 16mo. The 1st part, dedicated to ‘Peter Baalle, esquire,’ consists of apophthegms, pointedly expressed; the 2nd, dedicated to Ball's son William, is preceded by a rough sonnet by Thomas Nabhes, and includes a number of short poems, many of them inscribed with the names of various members of the Ball family and of other personal friends. Another edition appeared of 1852, ‘printed by T.F. for the use and benefit of Andrew Pennycuylre, gent.' Pennycuyke was a well-known actor of the day. A unique copy of this edition is in the Huth Library. #''The Swagpprin Damsell: A comedy, written by R. C., Emdon, 1840. The dialogue is spirited, but the plot is coarse. A little blank verse is interspersed with the prose, in which the greater part is written. There is no positive evidence that it was acted, although clearly written for the stage (Genest, x. 116). #''Jocabella, or a Cabinet of Conceits. Whereunto are added epigrams and other poems, by R.C., London, 1640, dedicated to John Wild. The 'merry conceits' — 439 in number — are of the usual character. 1 (391) relates a poor joke in Shakespeare's Works; another is headed "On mr. Nabbes, his Comedie called the Bride"; and a 3rd concerns "the Swinesfac't Lady." W.C. Hazlitt attributes to Chamberlain 3 other anonymous collections of jests: The Booke of Bvlls, Baited with two centuries of Bold Jests and Nimble Lies, . . . collected by A.S., gent., London, 1636; A New Booke of Mistakes, or Bulls with Tales and Bulls without Tales, London, 1637; and Conceits, Clinches, Flashes, and Whimzies, London, 1639. These books were all published by Chamberlain's own publisher, Daniel Frere, of Little Britain. The Booke of Bulls contains commendatory lines signed "R.C., gent.," i.e. probably Chamberlain himself, and it is on the whole unlikely that Chamberlain was the compiler. Of the 2nd book the same may be said. But the 3rd book, the Conceits, which has been frequently attributed to John Taylor, the Water-poet, contains commendatory lines from the pen of Chamberlain's friend, Rawlins, and resembles the Jocabella in sufficiently numerous points to support the conclusion that it was a 1st edition of Chamberlain's acknowledged jestbook. It was reprinted by J.O. Halliwell-Phillippe in 1860, and by W.C. Hazlitt in his Old English Jest Books (iii.) in 1864. In the Luttrell Collection of Broadsides at the British Museum is a sheet of verse justifying the restoration of the established clergy, signed "Rob. Chamberlaine" and entitled "Balaam's Asse Cudgeld; or, The cry of town and country against scandalous and seditious scriblers'', London, 1661. A sheet of verse (by William Cook) written in reply, was entitled "A Dose for Chamberlain and a Pill for the Doctor," 1661.'' See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Mar. 7, 2018. Notes External links * Chamberlain, Robert (fl. 1640-1660) Category:1607 births Category:17th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:Poets Category:People from Lancashire